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Warmth bubbles inside of me at my brother’s protectiveness, and I find myself smiling. Smiling widely, as though I haven’t got a care in the world, as though I haven’t spent my whole life feeling like I’m teetering on the freaking edge.
“It’s okay. I’ll talk to him. Maybe he wants to offer me some more work.”
Kenny nods and leaves. A second later – before I have a chance to get myself together – Nick fills the doorway.
He’s already in his Santa suit, but he has the beard pulled down and the hat crumpled in his hands.
Again, I’m struck by how he seems to swell, making the clothes seem somehow tighter. It’s the way his muscles expand, bulge, pulling at something inside of me.
“Unfortunately my elves haven’t called in sick today,” he says, walking into the storage closet and looking around. “So I can’t offer you any work.”
His sharp eyes go from my makeshift bed to my cup with my toothbrush in it, to the suitcase I’ve wedged under the shelving unit.
“Natalie, why are you sleeping in a mall?”
Shame pricks me at his tone, igniting something else inside of me, something deeper than lust. I sit up straighter, as though that will suddenly make me look less homeless.
“I had to move out of my orphanage. Kenny can still stay there for now, because he’s just turned eighteen. So he uses his key to let me in here at night. Well, he made me a copy. He keeps a lookout for me. And…”
But I stop, trailing off when the other thing arises in my mind.
“And what?” he snaps.
I spring to my feet, aiming my finger at him. “Why do you get to come in here and interrogate me, huh? You’re the one who threatened my little brother yesterday for no freaking reason.”
“That was… yeah, that was a mistake. I’ll admit that. But I don’t want you to think I’m cool with you living in a shopping mall. You deserve so much more than that.”
“But why...” I murmur.
My voice cuts off with a quiver as he strides toward me, closing the distance so I could reach out and touch him if I had the courage. His scent whispers all around me, rising like a mist, like some sort of warped Christmas magic or something.
“What?”
He smirks, leaning down, staring hard at me. It’s like he’s pinning me in place with his gaze, making it impossible for me to move or react, to do anything except shiver beneath his gaze.
“What?” I echo.
“You were smiling.”
“I was just thinking… about Christmas, and magic, and a bunch of other stupid stuff. But don’t change the subject. Why the heck did you almost attack Kenny?”
He moves even closer, pushing forward until his chest is almost pressed against my face. I’m suddenly aware of just how big he is, a giant wrapped in red.
“You’ll think I’m crazy,” he growls.
I feel the rumble of his words that come from his chest, a vibration that moves through him and into me.
“Maybe I already think you’re crazy, huh?” I say, trying for sassy.
And failing.
There are countless shy quivers in my voice.
He leans down, bringing his face closer to mine.
“I freaked out when I saw you hugging Kenny because I didn’t know he was your brother. I thought he was just some guy. And nobody gets to touch you, kiss you, hold you. No man ever gets to claim you, Natalie. Except for me. Only me. Forever.”
I gasp, shaking my head even as my heart surges and my womb gives a deep pulse, like fairy lights suddenly switched on after endless darkness. Brightness flickers through me, daring me to hope he’s telling the truth, daring me to believe in Christmas miracles when I should know better.
“I mean it,” he snaps. “I can’t explain it, but the second I saw you, I knew I had to have you. I knew you belonged to me. I knew you were are mine. And you’re always going to be mine. I know it sounds crazy, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I… I need you, Natalie.”
I’m not sure what to say to this, but then he makes it so I don’t have to say anything.
His lips crash against mine.
Chapter Five
Nick
There’s a moment of uncertainty on her end, in the way she pauses and stiffens against me, the way a chord of anxiety strikes her. For a second the beast inside of me roars and demands I take her right now, uncertainty or not, just throw her down and maul every inch of her.
But then she softens and makes a stifled moaning noise, just about audible though the closeness of the kiss. I’m breathing heavily through the tight press of our mouths, my body pulsing with need as I grind up against her.
My manhood is flooded with my seed, every inch of me rock solid, the base so hard I feel like I’m going to erupt right here and now. But somehow I manage to keep myself somewhat civilized.
